At the meeting Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Cyril awarded Nursultan Nazarbayev the Order of Sergey Radonezhsky of the first degree.
President Nursultan Nazarbayev thanked the Russian Orthodox Church for the high assessment of Kazakhstan’s policy aimed at strengthening of interfaith consent.
– Over the years of independence we have always supported equality of relations and respect for all religions. In Kazakhstan, of course, the two main religions are Islam and Orthodox Christianity. These two pillars of spirituality form the basis for harmony in our society. Today we are witnessing conflicts in various parts of the world, including those on religious and ethnic grounds. Therefore, we should be proud of our island of stability and understanding. In addition, Kazakhstan regularly holds congresses of leaders of world and traditional religions”, – he noted.
Nursultan Nazarbayev emphasized the contribution of the Russian Orthodox Church in the development of friendly relations between the peoples of Russia and Kazakhstan.
Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Cyril, in turn, stressed the unique experience of Kazakhstan must serve as an example for other countries, especially against the backdrop of nowadays conflicts in different parts of the world.
– You are recognized worldwide as an outstanding statesman. Under your leadership, in a short period of time Kazakhstan passed a long way of development. Being a multi-ethnic state, your country serves as an example of peaceful interaction of people belonging to different ethnic groups and religions”, – he said.
During the meeting with Principal of Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia Vladimir Philippov the sides discussed issues of cooperation between the leading universities of Kazakhstan and Russia, as well as promising areas of cooperation between the two countries in the field of education.
Nursultan Nazarbayev noted today the People’s Friendship University of Russia is one of the flagships of education, making a significant contribution into the training of qualified personnel for Kazakhstan. As of today, the university has enrolled more than 500 students from our country, being the second educational institution with the largest number of Kazakh students among the 150 countries of the world.
Vladimir Filippov, on his part, thanked Nursultan Nazarbayev for the attention paid to the development of humanitarian cooperation between the two countries and creation of favourable conditions for the full academic cooperation between Kazakh and Russian universities.
During the meeting with President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin Nursultan Nazarbayev stressed the first year of the Eurasian Economic Union’s functioning is coming to an end, and this period was not easy.
– We knew there would be a crisis, we’d taken all necessary measures to overcome it, and now we must move on. Of course, our country’s GDP has declined, the trade turnover also dropped down. However, open borders and close bilateral ties play a positive role. We will discuss all these issues at today’s meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council”, – he said.
The President also said the upcoming session of CSTO Collective Security Council will address issues of the international agenda.
Vladimir Putin, on his part, underscored the ongoing development of the strategic partnership between the two countries, despite the current difficulties in the global economy.
– We are continuing our work to harmonize the standards of customs and technical regulation. All this gives a positive result. I am sure that if we did not conclude the existing agreements, it would have been much more difficult for our economies to overcome the crisis”, – he noted.
Presidents of Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan took part in the meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
During the meeting the sides exchanged views on the current situation in the CSTO zone of responsibility and further action in view of the escalation of tension in some regions of the world. The participants also discussed rotation of officials of the CSTO permanent bodies.
The heads of state called for the formation of a broad international coalition against terrorism in line with the UN Charter and international legal standards and principles. The sides also stressed that the fight against terrorism cannot be carried out without overlapping the sources of finance.
The meeting addressed an incident with the downed Russian military aircraft Su-24, which took part in the anti-terrorist operation in Syria.
The sides also confirmed their determination to strengthen the power potential of the CSTO, as well as to increase counter-terrorism component and readiness of collective forces to rapidly react and effectively counter new threats and challenges.
The heads of state unanimously made a decision to extend the term of office of the Secretary General of the CSTO Nikolai Bordyuzha up to January 1, 2017.
Following the meeting the following documents were adopted:
– A statement of the CSTO heads of state;
– The decision of the CSTO “On the rotation of officials of permanent working bodies of the Collective Security Treaty Organization”;
– The decision of the CSTO “On the CSTO Secretary General”.
Presidents of Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, as well as Chairman of the Eurasian Economic Commission Board Viktor Khristenko took part in the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council summit.
During the meeting the heads of EAEU member states discussed various aspects of the functioning of the Union, including current logistics and personnel issues of the organisation.
In his speech, Nursultan Nazarbayev expressed gratitude to the Belarusian side and Alexander Lukashenko personally for their work during the year as the EAEU Chair.
The President noted that our country attaches great importance to the Eurasian Economic Union, which provides a huge potential for the development of its member states.
– We are very well aware that the year 2016 will be difficult due to the instability of the global economic environment, and we will have to work under special conditions. Kazakhstan will make all efforts for the further dynamic development of our integration association. We will work actively to deepen contacts with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization during our chairmanship of the organisation. This will expand our capabilities and strengthen the EAEU”, – he said.
In addition, the sides discussed the strategy of joint actions in view of the start of the functioning of a free trade zone between Ukraine and the EU on January 1, 2016. It was decided to introduce next year the electronic declaration of goods transported within the EAEU.
The heads of state approved the budget of the Eurasian Economic Union for 2016, as well as the new board of the Eurasian Economic Commission and the distribution of responsibilities among its members.
A report was made on the alignment of the EAEU and the Silk Road Economic Belt in order to further promote international cooperation.
The meeting also decided to amend the programme of gradual liberalization of automobile transportation within the Union.
In addition, a decision was made on Kazakhstan’s chairmanship in all bodies of the Union in 2016, except for the board of the Commission.